Exclusive: Janus Films has acquired North American rights to the documentary Faya Dayi, the feature directorial debut of filmmaker Jessica Beshir.
Janus is planning a theatrical release later in 2021 for the film, which premiered in January in World Cinema Documentary Competition at the Sundance Film Festival. The Mexican-Ethiopian Beshir returned to Harar, Ethiopia, where she had lived as a child, to make her documentary. It explores the generations, young and old, who cultivate khat, a flowering plant chewed as a stimulant that has vital cultural and economic impact on Ethiopia.
“Faya Dayi took our breath away,” commented Peter Becker, Janus partner and president of Criterion. “Jessica Beshir’s commanding love letter to Ethiopia is both a meticulously observed exploration of the economic, social, and psychological impact of the khat trade on her country, and shot for shot, one of the most gorgeously cinematic films we’ve ever seen.”
Becker continued,...
Janus is planning a theatrical release later in 2021 for the film, which premiered in January in World Cinema Documentary Competition at the Sundance Film Festival. The Mexican-Ethiopian Beshir returned to Harar, Ethiopia, where she had lived as a child, to make her documentary. It explores the generations, young and old, who cultivate khat, a flowering plant chewed as a stimulant that has vital cultural and economic impact on Ethiopia.
“Faya Dayi took our breath away,” commented Peter Becker, Janus partner and president of Criterion. “Jessica Beshir’s commanding love letter to Ethiopia is both a meticulously observed exploration of the economic, social, and psychological impact of the khat trade on her country, and shot for shot, one of the most gorgeously cinematic films we’ve ever seen.”
Becker continued,...
- 4/6/2021
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
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